Today is my first granddaughters 11th birthday. This marks the first birthday I have not been with her in her entire young life. She, her mother, and brother are on Maui. Due to my heath and finances it may be quite some time before I see them face to face. However, a dear friend came to my emotional rescue and asked me to get on Skype to help her study for her board certification exam. I mentored Shanda through her entire masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). I think this is one of my strongest assets: mentoring. So, rather than dwelling in my pity pot, I am now reading up on the next section she needs to go over with me. AH....life is good, my brain is still active, and I can see clearly that my skills as a behavior analyst are still strong. Don't count me out just yet. I may write that book yet.... an incredible life or cultivating pearls (more on this later). Thank you Shanda for keeping me involved during my recovery process.
Recovery from stroke requires: a good friend that has confidence in you.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Waiting on Social Security
After my second stroke and ensuing complications, I applied for SSD. Back ground information: I had been on SSD before finishing my master's degree. Therefore, I was entitled to an expedited claim. To date it has taken 10 months for approval. And now, that I have been approved, no one can find my claim in the disbursement department in DC. I have ran out of medications, cannot afford the blood analysis, and cannot afford to see my doctor.
I suggest that anyone who has been treated rudely, waited too long for a claim to be started, waited too long after approval to be placed on benefits, or just simply unsatisfied with any staff working for social security should call his or her congress person and make a formal complaint. (We should never accept being treated bad by a social security representative.) And while you have your representative's agent on the phone insist on a study to determine how long it takes the average disability claim to make it's way through the process.
Nothing will be done to change things if we do not use our voices collectively.
I suggest that anyone who has been treated rudely, waited too long for a claim to be started, waited too long after approval to be placed on benefits, or just simply unsatisfied with any staff working for social security should call his or her congress person and make a formal complaint. (We should never accept being treated bad by a social security representative.) And while you have your representative's agent on the phone insist on a study to determine how long it takes the average disability claim to make it's way through the process.
Nothing will be done to change things if we do not use our voices collectively.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
In the beginning..... or new beginning.
I moved to the mainland under duress as we could no longer afford to live on the island of Maui.
I literally lost my job due to a second stroke and an envious employer. My employer told me, not nicely, “you are no longer fit to work with humans.” Perhaps this should be prefaced by the fact that my employer had been looking for reasons to put me in my place and get rid of me. The cases I was over had all reached stability. Therefore, the company though they no longer needed me and I was one of the highest paid employees. He had successfully fired many females. He placed one of his office workers as a personal care attendant on one of my cases. She made an unwarranted complaint and he attempted fire me with a human resource representative present. His remark made it impossible for the company to fire me, so I was to be used behind the scene as a product developer for adults with disabilities. It needs to be said that I had no experience in developing software on PC’s. I was offered employment on month to month trial in this new job. I had been his least favorite employee as I was hired solely to save a case the company was about to lose. I was successful and he did everything he could to embarrass me in front of my peers. He never accepted my suggestions in meetings. Given that I had suffered my second stroke just weeks before this complaint, I went to my doctor and she agreed the stress I was under it would be best for me to begin long term sick leave.
The following links support the suggestion that chronic stress may lead to stroke.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC58815/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101502.htm
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html
http://oregon.providence.org/patients/programs/providence-stroke-center/Pages/askanexpertlanding.aspx?TemplateName=Ask+an+Expert:+Stress+and+stroke+risk&TemplateType=AskAnExpert
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/15/women-who-face-high-stres_n_783345.html
I honestly believe the working conditions I suffered for years added to my stroke. However, up until my last meeting with my employer my commitment to my clients and their families outweighed the harassment I received. I have recently received word from a family member that everything I had accomplished has been undone. How sad that clients are harmed by ego.
I am back in the town where my children were born. Where my son was run over. I am actually living on the land facing the road where he was run down. Family land. My son, just turned 35, and lives with me. He suffered a severe head injury on October 19, 1985, he was nine years old. He was in a coma for about three months. He has recovered more than anyone though possible. I give this recovery to the skills of behavior analysts. His recovery is why I became a behavior analyst. I have a need to help those that are deemed unrecoverable as my son was given up on until I found a facility that used behavior analysis. More on this later.
I am listening to the news as I am writing this piece. There was a piece about combat fatigue and how,” you just can’t switch it off once you have been in combat.” This is how my life has been. A series of combats that involve all my children at separate times. However, all the events involve the entire family; me and my children can’t switch it off. A person need not be a soldier in battle to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are at times given more than we can handle and as the brain attempts to make since of what has happened we become damaged physically by an external event. I suffer from PTSD. I have used the skills I have learned through applied behavior analysis to make my life better. When I witnessed the twin towers go down on television, I knew millions had the potential to suffer from PTSD. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/
Millions suffer from this disorder and by not receiving treatment or incorrect diagnosis they seek out other avenues to numb the brain (i.e., alcoholism, drug abuse, obsessive compulsive disorders, etc.,).
http://helpguide.org/mental/post_traumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
I literally lost my job due to a second stroke and an envious employer. My employer told me, not nicely, “you are no longer fit to work with humans.” Perhaps this should be prefaced by the fact that my employer had been looking for reasons to put me in my place and get rid of me. The cases I was over had all reached stability. Therefore, the company though they no longer needed me and I was one of the highest paid employees. He had successfully fired many females. He placed one of his office workers as a personal care attendant on one of my cases. She made an unwarranted complaint and he attempted fire me with a human resource representative present. His remark made it impossible for the company to fire me, so I was to be used behind the scene as a product developer for adults with disabilities. It needs to be said that I had no experience in developing software on PC’s. I was offered employment on month to month trial in this new job. I had been his least favorite employee as I was hired solely to save a case the company was about to lose. I was successful and he did everything he could to embarrass me in front of my peers. He never accepted my suggestions in meetings. Given that I had suffered my second stroke just weeks before this complaint, I went to my doctor and she agreed the stress I was under it would be best for me to begin long term sick leave.
The following links support the suggestion that chronic stress may lead to stroke.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC58815/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101502.htm
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html
http://oregon.providence.org/patients/programs/providence-stroke-center/Pages/askanexpertlanding.aspx?TemplateName=Ask+an+Expert:+Stress+and+stroke+risk&TemplateType=AskAnExpert
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/15/women-who-face-high-stres_n_783345.html
I honestly believe the working conditions I suffered for years added to my stroke. However, up until my last meeting with my employer my commitment to my clients and their families outweighed the harassment I received. I have recently received word from a family member that everything I had accomplished has been undone. How sad that clients are harmed by ego.
I am back in the town where my children were born. Where my son was run over. I am actually living on the land facing the road where he was run down. Family land. My son, just turned 35, and lives with me. He suffered a severe head injury on October 19, 1985, he was nine years old. He was in a coma for about three months. He has recovered more than anyone though possible. I give this recovery to the skills of behavior analysts. His recovery is why I became a behavior analyst. I have a need to help those that are deemed unrecoverable as my son was given up on until I found a facility that used behavior analysis. More on this later.
I am listening to the news as I am writing this piece. There was a piece about combat fatigue and how,” you just can’t switch it off once you have been in combat.” This is how my life has been. A series of combats that involve all my children at separate times. However, all the events involve the entire family; me and my children can’t switch it off. A person need not be a soldier in battle to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are at times given more than we can handle and as the brain attempts to make since of what has happened we become damaged physically by an external event. I suffer from PTSD. I have used the skills I have learned through applied behavior analysis to make my life better. When I witnessed the twin towers go down on television, I knew millions had the potential to suffer from PTSD. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/
Millions suffer from this disorder and by not receiving treatment or incorrect diagnosis they seek out other avenues to numb the brain (i.e., alcoholism, drug abuse, obsessive compulsive disorders, etc.,).
http://helpguide.org/mental/post_traumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
Ok, my ramblings have covered several subjects albeit none well. I will attempt to add to this blog daily. I have lived a most interesting life which could qualify for a Hallmark movie. I hope that these few words and those to come might help others going through tragic events.
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